Bringing petrol, diesel under GST will lower prices: Devendra Fadnavis
Fuel prices will come down once the Centre builds a consensus to bring petrol and diesel under the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said today. Petrol and diesel prices are defined by international crude oil rates, Fadnavis noted. “A task force is already working on reducing the fuel prices. If it (petrol and diesel) can be brought under GST, rates will come down. Maharashtra has already given its consent for it,” the chief minister told reporters here. The GST Council will also have to look into aspects like revenue losses before taking a decision, he said. Talks are going on with finance ministers of all states, Fadnavis said, adding that “other states have not given their consent yet.” “Once petrol and diesel are brought under the ambit of GST, its threshold will change, because, right now, taxes upon taxes are levied which increases rates. GST will ensure a single tax,” he said. The Centre had in June last year junked the 15-year old practice of revising rates every fortnight and introduced daily revisions. Petrol and diesel prices were raised for the 11th day in succession today as the state-owned oil firms gradually passed on to the consumer the increased cost of international oil that had accumulated since a 19-day freeze was imposed just before Karnataka elections. Since the time the hiatus ended on May 14, rates have gone up by Rs 2.84 a litre in case of petrol and Rs 2.60 in diesel. Petrol costs Rs 77.47 a litre in Delhi and diesel Rs 68.53. The central government levies Rs 19.48 excise duty on a litre of petrol and Rs 15.33 on diesel. State sales tax or VAT varies from state to state. Unlike excise duty, VAT is ad valorem and results in higher revenues for the state when rates move up. Meanwhile, praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Fadnavis said the Centre has stood behind his state government “like Himalayas” and that all stalled projects were given a clearance under Modi’s rule. “Unprecedented funds have been given by the Centre to mitigate drought problems, for irrigation purposes, to build roads. The Centre has given Maharashtra in last four years what was not given in the last 20 years,” he claimed. Trey Hendrickson Womens Jersey
Indraprastha Gas fourth quarter net profit up 31 per cent to Rs 175 crore
City gas supplier Indraprastha Gas Limited reported its standalone net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 2018 rose 31 percent to Rs 175 crore on the back of increased Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Piped Natural Gas (PNG) sales. Net profit in the corresponding quarter stood at Rs 134 crore. “In Q4 of 2017-18, the company’s net profit for the quarter increased from Rs. 133.5 crores in corresponding period last year to Rs 175.33 crore in FY’18 showing an increase of 31%. During this period, IGL registered a turnover of Rs. 1347 crore as compared to Rs. 1100 crore in the corresponding period last year thereby showing a growth of 22%,” the company said in a statement It added that there has been an overall sales volume growth of 11 percent over the corresponding quarter in the last fiscal, with CNG sales volume growing by 10 percent and PNG sales volume growing by 15 percent. The company’s total income for the fourth quarter increased by 23 percent to Rs 1,383 crore as compared to the corresponding quarter in the year-ago period. IGL reported its consolidated profit for the full financial year 2017-2018 grew 19 percent to Rs 722 crore. Total income of the city gas distributor for the full fiscal year of 2017-2018 grew by 21 percent to Rs 5,164 crore. The company in a statement said that increase in operating expenses during the year is mainly attributed to non-availability of input tax credit of Goods Service Tax (GST) and a significant increase in minimum wages in Delhi from March 2017. IGL’s expenses in the financial year 2017-2018 increased to Rs 4,140 crore from Rs 3,427 crore. The gas distributor’s CNG sales for the financial year 2017-2018 increased by 18 percent in value to Rs 3,888 crore and its PNG sales in value terms increased by 27 percent to Rs 1,165 crore as compared to the year-ago period. John Riggins Womens Jersey
Windfall oil tax on ONGC in the offing to soften fuel prices
The government may levy a windfall tax on oil producers like Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) as part of a permanent solution it is working on for moderating the spiralling retail prices of petrol and diesel. The tax, which may come in form of a cess, will kick in the moment oil prices cross USD 70 per barrel, sources privy to the development said. Under the scheme, oil producers, who get paid international rates for the oil they produce from domestic fields, would have to part with any revenue they earn from prices crossing USD 70 per barrel mark. The revenues so collected would be used to pay fuel retailers so that they absorb spikes beyond the threshold levels, they said. This may be accompanied by a minor tinkering with excise duty rates to give immediate relief to consumers. States too would be asked to cut sales tax or VAT to show a visible impact on retail prices. Sources said the thinking in the government is to levy cess on all oil producers – both public and private sector – so as not to attract criticism of stifling state-owned explorers. A similar tax was considered in 2008 when oil prices were on the rise but the idea was dropped after stiff opposition from private sector firms like Cairn India. Windfall tax, they said, is levied in some of the developed countries globally. The UK in 2011 raised the tax rate to be applied to North Sea oil and gas profits when the price is above USD 75 per barrel. China on April 1, 2006, began levying the special upstream profit tax on domestic oil producers to redistribute and allocate the windfall income enjoyed by the oil companies and subsidise disadvantaged industry and social groups that are most affected by soaring crude oil prices. It in 2012 raised the windfall tax threshold to USD 55 per barrel. Sources said the windfall tax is one of the options being considered by the government as a permanent solution to dealing with the problem of spike in oil prices. This follows reluctance on part of the finance ministry to cut excise duty as it has to ensure adequate funds are available to social welfare schemes in the election year. In particular, resources have to be arranged for the National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) that aims to provide health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh to every eligible household. Yesterday, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had stated that the government will take a long-term view on the retail prices of petrol and diesel, which have touched record high, instead of having an ad hoc measure. Petrol and diesel prices were raised for the 11th day in succession today as the state-owned oil firms gradually passed on to the consumer the increased cost of international oil that had accumulated since a 19-day freeze was imposed just before Karnataka elections. Since the time the hiatus ended on May 14, rates have gone up by Rs 2.84 a litre in case of petrol and Rs 2.60 in diesel. Petrol costs Rs 77.47 a litre in Delhi and diesel Rs 68.53. Sources said a USD 70 per barrel threshold for the windfall tax is sufficient to cover for capital expenditure requirement of ONGC and other oil producers. Incidentally, ONGC and Oil India Ltd had till June 2015 provided for up to 40 per cent of the annual fuel subsidy bill. This they did by way of providing discounts on crude sold to downstream refining and marketing companies, IOC, BPCL, and HPCL. This discount helped the retailers make good a part of the losses they incurred on selling petrol and diesel below cost. The government raised excise duty nine times between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up finances as global oil prices fell, but then cut the tax just once in October last year by Rs 2 a litre. The Centre levies Rs 19.48 as excise duty on a litre of petrol and Rs 15.33 on diesel. State sales tax or VAT varies from state to state. Unlike excise duty, VAT is ad valorem and results in higher revenues for the state when rates move up. Phillip Gaines Womens Jersey
OVL FY18 net profit up 29 pc on higher oil production
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), today reported a 29 per cent jump in its net profit for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018 as it produced more crude oil and natural gas. Consolidated net profit in 2017-18 fiscal at Rs 981 crore was 29.6 per cent higher than Rs 757 crore in the previous financial year, the company said in a statement. OVL is an unlisted company and as such is not obligated to release quarterly earning numbers. The firm, which has 41 projects in 20 countries spanning from Venezuela to New Zealand, produced 11 per cent more crude oil at 9.35 million tonnes in FY18. Natural gas output was also up 10 per cent at 4.81 billion cubic metres. “The incremental production was mainly from Vankorneft and Sakhalin-1 projects in Russia; Brazil’s BC-10 project, CPO-5 block of Colombia and due to the acquisition of 4 per cent stake in the Lower Zakum Concession project in UAE during the year,” the statement said. The board of directors of the company proposed a final dividend of Rs 2 per share for the 2017-18 fiscal, up from 1.4 a share paid in the previous year. OVL said it along with Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Bharat Petro Resources Ltd in February acquired 10 per cent stake in Lower Zakum Concession, offshore Abu Dhabi — the first acquisition by an Indian firm in UAE. The 10 per cent stake was split between OVL, IOC and BRPL in 40:30:30 ratio. The field produces around 419,000 barrels of oil per day and share of Indian companies is around 42,000 bpd. OVL’s share is around 16,800 bpd, it said. During the year, the company also completed an acquisition of 30 per cent interest in an exploration acreage in Namibia. ONGC Videsh Vankorneft Pte Ltd (OVVL), a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of OVL, took 30 per cent stake in Namibia Petroleum Exploration License 0037 on October 3, 2017 for Blocks 2112A, 2012B and 2113B from Tullow Oil of UK. Tullow with its remaining 35 per cent participating interest shall continue to be the operator of the license. Pancontinental Namibia (Pty) Ltd with 30 per cent interest and Paragon Oil and Gas (Pty) Ltd with 5 per cent are other partners in the license. Also, an exploration block in Israel was awarded to an Indian consortium comprising of OVL, Bharat Petro Resources Ltd (BPRL), IOC and Oil India Ltd (OIL). OVL said Russia has granted a 30 years extension to the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) of Sakhalin-1 block from 2021 to 2051. The company holds 20 per cent stake in the field operation by Exxon. Elsewhere, Government of Mozambique has accorded approval for the development plan for the Golfinho-Atum natural gas field in the Area 1 block located in the Rovuma Offshore Basin of Mozambique. “The plan outlines the integrated development of the Golfinho-Atum field through an initial two-train onshore liquefaction plant with a total processing capacity of 12.88 million tonnes per annum,” OVL said. The Golfinho-Atum Project will also supply initial volumes of approximately 100 million cubic feet of natural gas per day for domestic sales for Mozambique’s industrial development and thereafter make close to 13 million tonnes of LNG annually for exports to nations like India. ANZ ABM ABM P.J. Hall Jersey
Petrol price rises for 11th straight day; govt defends price rise amid call for nation-wide protests
Petrol and diesel prices across the country were raised for the eleventh consecutive day today with Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) passing on the increase in international fuel prices to the consumers. This follows the 19-day price freeze initiated by OMCs before the Karnataka polls. Price of non-branded petrol in Delhi soared to Rs 77.47 per litre today, the highest price recorded in Delhi’s history, and a 30 paise per litre hike over Wednesday’sprice. The previous high for petrol price in Delhi was Rs 76 per liter in September 2013 when crude oil prices were hovering around $108-115 per barrel. Similarly, diesel prices in the national capital soared to Rs 68.53 per litre today, the highest recorded ever. Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday at a press briefing argued that fuel taxes were necessary for country’s development. “As far as fuel prices are concerned, including the excise duty or other taxes thereupon, they are very clearly used for country’s development, for constriction of more national highways, more roads, more digital infrastructure, taking energy to those villages which were without energy for last so many years,” he said. The price of Petrol has peaked at record levels in other metro cities too, including Rs 85.29 per litre in Mumbai, Rs 80.42 in Chennai and Rs 80.12 per litre in Kolkata. Price of every litre of non-branded diesel has also peaked at Rs 72.96 in Mumbai, Rs 72.35 in Chennai and Rs 71.08 in Kolkata. Prasad added, “In view of the uncertainty in the crude prices globally, a new sense of urgency has developed. The govt is keen that instead of having an ad-hoc measure, it is desirable to have a long-term view that addresses not only the volatility but also takes care of the unnecessary ambiguity arising out of frequent ups and downs.” Meanwhile, Indian National Congress has called for protests in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Mumbai and New Delhi. West Bengal’s ruling party Trinamool Congress today said it would organise protests in the city of Kolkata on Friday against sharp hike in fuel prices. Biju Janta Dal, ruling party in Odisha has announced its decision to hold protests outside Raj Bhavan on Monday against the centre’s inaction to regulate prices of petrol and diesel. Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the country’s largest fuel retailer, has since 14 May increased petrol prices by Rs 2.84 per litre and has hiked diesel prices by Rs 2.60 per litre in the national capital. Prices have peaked across the country, fuelling speculations the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government may be mulling an excise duty cut for auto fuels. Also Read: Fuel price hike: Indian Oil responds to tough questions BJP President Amit Shah had on Tuesday said the government is taking the issue of rising fuel prices seriously and will soon announce measures to deal with the matter. He added that oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is meeting the representatives of oil companies to work out a solution. Sanjiv Singh, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and M.K Surana, Chairman of Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) in separate statements told media that the government has not called a meeting to discuss the fuel price issue. Pradhan had on Monday attributed the fuel price hike to production cuts initiated by Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and told media that the government is working on a solution to provide respite to consumers. Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg had last week said that the government is monitoring the situation and will take adequate steps soon without elaborating on the measures to be taken by the government. Oil and gas sector analysts have over the past week said fuel prices will go up by an additional Rs 4 per litre as the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) try to recover their marketing margins, which came under pressure when OMCs collectively initiated a price freeze for 19 straight days before the Karnataka elections. Quinton Jefferson Jersey